The idea behind this trip was to base myself in London and take day trips on British Rail trains to places I'd not been to before.  (I couldn't afford to spend nights in all the places I visited so the day trips was the next best thing.)  This sounds easier than it was; deciding where to go, which BritRail Pass to get, how many days to buy and which places to spend a night gave me more than a few headaches.  Thankfully it worked out in the end.  I eventually settled on a 15-day Flexi England Pass as that would cover where I wanted to go.  I paid £330 (including the £12 shipping fee and 2.5% commission for credit card payments) which worked out to be $449.60 (and included the 3.5% foreign transaction fee on my credit card!)  Needless to say, I didn't use my credit card again!  I used cash only.  You can travel on any train and at any time which is great if you're having a good time in one place and want to stay a little longer.  As I was turning 60 a couple of days before my first day trip, I qualified for a senior pass and saved quite a bit!

Throughout my trip I kept seeing fantastic pub signs, incredible store signs, amazing weathervanes, pretty doors and interesting door knockers.  And naturally, for me, I had to include some wildlife and flowers!  You couldn't help but fall in love with flowers, as everywhere you looked there was an abundance of colorful hanging baskets or flower pots or gardens.  I was also interested in the blue plaques scattered around London (and England) so I've included some of these too!  I hope you enjoy reading about my day trips!